Assault

Brothers and Sisters, assault is simply not acceptable!

Assault is completely forbidden and unacceptable on any transit worker. Any sort of altercation with a driver that appears threatening or harmful is considered assault. Specifically, assault means punching, slapping, spitting, kicking, objects that are throw, liquids that are thrown (such as coffee), or any sort of threatening remarks. When a transit operator has been assaulted, not only is the driver put in harm’s way, but the fellow passengers are also at risk. Assault makes you responsible for the harmful effects and aftermath of a potentially dangerous and life-threatening situation. Therefore, we urge you to think logically before acting.

Continuously, although all forms of assaults are unacceptable and will be dealing with legally and accordingly, spitting on a driver possibly causes the greatest harm to one’s health. Specifically, spitting which originates from ones saliva is a gateway for transmitting bacteria and viruses. Some possible diseases that can be causes due to spitting are: Hepatitis B Virus, molluscum contagiosm, bacterial meningitis, cytomegalovirus, flu and avian flu, human herpesvirus, polio, epsteting-barr virus, monoculeosis, streptococcal infections, upper respiratory infections, cold sores and HIV/AIDS. The underlying issue at hand is that spitting is considered a physical assault which may cause serious and harmful diseases and in extreme cases, result in death.

We encourage you to think logically and rationally before acting on assault. Moreover, the Canadian Council is currently trying to change the legislation by introducing a bill to change the criminal code when assaulting a bus driver. This is not an issue that we are taking lightly and we are enforcing a complete zero tolerance policy on any form of assault on any transit worker.

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Confirmation of Royal assent only four months after ATU Canada and our friends from Unifor met with Senator Runciman and MP Chisu for round table discussions. Bill S 221 was still in the Senate at this time.
To borrow the words from Senator Runciman, "That this bill has gone through both Houses of Parliament in only nine months shows the power of a good idea,”

"Bill S-221, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against public transit operators), passed third reading and was awaiting royal assent as of Feb. 16. The bill amended Section 269 of the Criminal Code to require judges to consider a transit driver’s occupation as an “aggravating circumstance” in sentencing. It applies to drivers of buses, paratransit vehicles, taxis, subways, streetcars and ferries."